AVB on Porto’s Spaniards: “Samu superb, Gabri vital, Borja is Porto” | OneFootball

André Villas-Boas clarified, in an interview with the newspaper “Marca,” FC Porto’s interest in Samu, Borja Sainz and Gabri Veiga, stressing that all three emerged as “market opportunities” at the right moment.

Samu, the president explained, came onto the dragons’ radar because of his “speed and energy,” and his signing required a swift decision. “It was an important deal that we had to close in 24 hours. Samu has been an incredible signing, not only as a footballer, because of his speed, strength and physical presence, but also as a human being. He is young and has a lot of charisma and energy. At the moment he is injured and we miss him. I think he is also a big loss for Spain, because he has a lot of talent,” he said, when discussing the possibility of the Porto striker being called up for the 2026 World Cup.

Borja Sainz’s “breakout” while playing for Norwich in England, where he scored 19 goals and provided four assists in 43 matches last season, left the dragons’ scouts in no doubt.

“Borja had an excellent season at Norwich, caught the attention of our scouts and we decided to sign him. He went through a very difficult moment with the death of his mother, but he has already recovered his best form. He is a player we like, he represents the spirit of FC Porto and we believe he can be successful here,” said Villas-Boas, adding that the “excellent level” shown by Gabri Veiga at Al Ahli Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia, made it clear that he needed to be brought into the midfield.

“Gabri is a player we felt had to come to Porto. Not only because it is close to Vigo, but because of his stature and talent. He is at an excellent level. I think he is having his best season in statistical terms: goals, assists... He wanted to take another step in Europe and the fact that we managed to bring him from Saudi Arabia was fantastic. We believe in him and we are confident that he could play in the World Cup for Spain. I am sure that, even though he has not been called up to the senior national team, he also dreams of that,” said Villas-Boas.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.